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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23388154">The End for the Emperor</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeruleanTactician/pseuds/CeruleanTactician'>CeruleanTactician</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Force Ghost Anakin Skywalker, Gen, POV Antagonist, POV Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Personification of Death, Post-Canon, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, Unreliable Narrator, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:34:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,525</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23388154</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeruleanTactician/pseuds/CeruleanTactician</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After his death on Exegol, the spirit of Darth Sidious considers his options and talks to an old friend. </p><p>Or: the Chosen One finally finishes his damn job.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sheev Palpatine &amp; Anakin Skywalker, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious &amp; Darth Vader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The End for the Emperor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Somewhere in the realm between life and death, the spirit of Darth Sidious watched the scene between his granddaughter and the Skywalker boy play out with unconcealed irritation. The kiss had been almost painful to watch. Still, he managed a smile at the look on Rey’s face when the boy pulled that old Jedi trick and vanished.</p><p>He should try something like that, next time. Exploding was not as fun as it sounded.</p><p>The Final Order had been a complete failure. And it had been going so well, before. Sidious had destroyed the Republic, again. He had formed a massive fleet with the Sith cultists of Exegol at his side. The cultists were undoubtedly loyal to the Dark Side, but also tended to be somewhat… volatile. And it bothered him, knowing that they were loyal not to him personally, but to the position of Dark Lord of the Sith. He would have prefered to use various corrupt, craven and cruel officials, as he had his first time around. There had been something unquestionably <em>sweet</em> about ending the Republic from within.</p><p>But the fault had not been in any of those aspects of the plan. It had been his granddaughter and Vader’s grandson. The boy had lacked true commitment. He would’ve always failed, even if he had become a Sith. And his granddaughter, having been stolen from him so early on, had also been too unpredictable.</p><p>Nothing could ever be as disappointing as the first fall of the Empire, and Vader’s betrayal. Sidious accepted that he needed to avoid family the next time. No more useless heirs, and certainly no more <em>Skywalkers</em>. And maybe avoid using the force lightning. As fun as it was, it had caused him problems too many times now. Sidious made plans for his third Empire in silence.</p><p>As he watched his armies fall and his granddaughter leave alone, he felt a familiar presence appear alongside him. Sidious felt no fear. He could do nothing to him in this realm.</p><p>Though he outwardly resembled the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker in his glory days, the hero of the Clone Wars, he had the assured presence of a man who spent over twenty merciless years serving the Dark Side. Darth Vader’s spirit studied him silently for a few moments before moving to sit on Sidious’s throne. He had a vaguely amused look on his face. While Vader’s vanity in choosing this form was slightly comical, the fury that Sidious felt whenever he thought of his betrayal, much less saw him, grew.</p><p>“Hey Sheev,” said Vader’s ghost, still smiling, relaxing on Sidious’s throne. Sidious quickly hid his annoyance, though his temper flared at the words.</p><p>He even sounded like Anakin. While the events on Mustafar were a disaster, (an entertaining disaster, but still a disaster) one benefit was that he never had to hear Anakin’s voice whining at him again. <em>Chancellor, the Council is being so unfair! Chancellor, Master Kenobi never understands me!</em> Pretending to be Anakin Skywalker’s confidant and friend had made his training under Darth Plagueis seem like a walk in the Lake Country.</p><p>Still, if there was one thing you could say for Vader, it was that he was a quick learner. After Mustafar, he never bothered him with those kinds of trivialities again.</p><p>“I guess today could’ve gone better for you.” said Vader, shaking his head in mock sympathy.</p><p>“Lord Vader,” said Sidious, putting on his sympathetic, grandfatherly tone with a barely concealed edge. “How kind of you to visit me. Have you grown bored of your Jedi companions?”</p><p>Sidious could still hardly believe that the Jedi had accepted their lost Knight back with open arms after his death... no, he could believe it. Over his long life and afterlife, he had more than proven that the Jedi were beyond naïve and foolish. Though Sidious could scarcely imagine a worse afterlife than keeping company with a bunch of dead Jedi for eternity. Even with the added amusement that he was responsible for their deaths. </p><p>“My name is Anakin,” corrected Vader, lightly, with an air of calm that Anakin had never possessed. “And, no, Sheev. The rest of the Jedi have, for the most part, returned into the Force. They’ve found their peace in death.”</p><p>For as long as he existed, Sidious was sure he would never fully understand the ways of the Jedi. It had taken decades for him to find a way to maintain his spirit after death. To manage to find a way to hold onto existence after death and then let go? He could hardly grasp the concept. </p><p>“How foolish,” he said, working to hide his irritation at Vader for using the first name his parents had given him. Sidious had murdered them for a reason. </p><p>“But somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. So they’ve all abandoned you. Even your former master, General Kenobi?” said Sidious.</p><p>That was the first thing he said that seemed to faze Vader. He glanced down at the spot where his grandson had died.</p><p>“Obi-Wan is at peace,” said Vader simply. “You could have that too.”</p><p>Vader paused for a moment. </p><p>“It won’t be painful.” he said. And Vader certainly knew of pain. His apprentice’s misery in his suit had brought him great joy over the years.</p><p>Sidious smiled cruelly at the words. But was Vader truly trying to threaten him? Or worse, to tempt <em>him</em>?</p><p>“No. No, there is much you still don’t understand, Lord Vader. Much I failed to teach you, perhaps.” he acknowledged. “The peace of the Jedi is a lie. A trick to pull the weak into accepting oblivion with a smile on their face. And it will take more than that to fool me, my traitorous apprentice.”</p><p>“I am no longer your apprentice. I am not your tool or your slave.” said Vader, suddenly as cold in his fury as he was whenever he broke an Imperial officer’s trachea. Perhaps not so serene in death after all, then. He gazed at Sidious, seeming almost thoughtful.</p><p>“Why come to me, then? You are alone. You lack a purpose.” observed Sidious.</p><p>“Not exactly,” Vader said, shaking his head. He leaned forward. He looked more relaxed (almost <em>playful</em>) than the 23-year-old Anakin had ever looked in life. He was finding something funny about this, Sidious realized, but he couldn’t imagine what.</p><p>“What? The Jedi still hold sway over you, even in death. They control your actions?” Sidious sneered.</p><p>“No,” said Vader, suddenly serious. “I am a child of the Force. I have been given a task, and I will carry out that task for the rest of my immortal life.”</p><p>Vader’s self-serious nature had been irritating, but it somehow worsened while he wore Knight Skywalker’s body.</p><p>“Yes,” said Sidious, impatiently, growing weary of his former apprentice's insolence. “Do tell me, what is this “task”?</p><p>“I am Death,” said Vader, standing up. “And, Sheev Palpatine, I have been looking for you.”</p><p>Sidious was torn between laughing and fleeing. Had death destroyed what remained of his former apprentice’s sanity? He could imagine it. Vader, "repentant", spending the past decades after his death pathetically counting his sins. <em>Broken.</em></p><p>But when he looked at Vader, he saw not the boy that Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker burned and died as, but the man he never became. Older, graying, with laugh lines. Still recognizably Anakin, still wearing the dark tunic and robes he favored. Three limbs intact, presumably. Sidious noticed after a few moments that he wore a traditional Naboo wedding ring. The stone was emerald, meaning at least forty years of marriage. Seeing the future he had stolen from Anakin would have normally amused him. </p><p>But as he met Anakin’s gaze, he felt strangely disquieted, even as the vision of a lost future faded.</p><p>Never before had a Jedi spirit managed to lay a hand on him.</p><p>Anakin walked towards him calmly, at an almost leisurely pace. </p><p>Sidious reached for the Dark Side, his constant companion for over a century now. He felt its power surge through him, all his fury and hatred and lust for power that had brought him back from death itself. That kept him from returning to the Force, even now.</p><p>And he felt it slip.</p><p>Anakin was almost within striking distance of him now, though he wore no lightsaber that Sidious could see.</p><p>“Having trouble, Sheev?” called Anakin. Sidious tried to flee this place, but he found himself somehow blocked—</p><p>Anakin reached out suddenly, grabbing his arm. And he <em>felt it</em>, felt Anakin’s hand through the sleeve of his robe. Sidious pulled back, pushing Skywalker away with all his strength in the Force. But Anakin—unrestricted by his suit’s limitations, the only child of the Force, the Jedi’s chosen one, Anakin Skywalker—had always been stronger than him. Sidious always knew this, and accepted it. He was evil, not delusional. The events on Mustafar had been a relief, if only in that aspect. Sidious had never had any interest in being replaced in the traditional Sith manner. Not by Maul, not by Tyranus and certainly not by Vader.</p><p>Sidious searched desperately for an escape. But he found instead that Exegol was gone. Instead, they were on a desert planet, at night. They were surrounded by large dunes. There was a small village off in the distance. Sidious did not recognize the planet, having never been there before.</p><p>But he could guess its name. The desert planet where Anakin had been enslaved, where he began his path on the Dark Side was cool at night. Sidious could almost feel a breeze. The light of three moons lit up Anakin’s face.</p><p>“This is the end for you,” Anakin said, softly, almost gently. “All living things must eventually die and return to the Force. And, I hate to say it, but you’re long overdue.”</p><p>Sidious remembered cutting down three Jedi Masters in the Chancellor's office with inhuman speed, the first time he had been able to truly reveal himself. He tried to reach all the Dark he had ever felt, all the pride and contempt and and rage and <em>hatred</em>. There was much of it; Sidious had lived a long and terrible life. But, despite it all, he found he could no longer move from Anakin’s gaze. </p><p>He remembered destroying democracy in the galaxy twice over. But that was the thing, wasn’t it? He hadn’t truly destroyed democracy and the Republic, when <em>it kept coming back</em>.</p><p>He remembered corrupting a scared, foolish Skywalker boy, twice over. He remembered—</p><p>Anakin’s eyes were a frightful shade of blue. They were almost all he could see.</p><p>He remembered achieving the victory the Sith had fought for over a thousand years. And he remembered it being taken away from him. Because of—</p><p>“You’ll never win,” said Sidious. “The Dark will always return. The Sith will rule the galaxy once more.”</p><p>“Perhaps,” said Anakin. “But there will always be someone to stop them.”</p><p>“Like my granddaughter? She is foolish and weak. She has chosen to cripple herself by following the Light. Just like you, Skywalker.” said Sidious, voice low.</p><p>Did he believe what he was saying? Even Sidious did not know. Every maneuver, every trick Sidious has ever learned, he was using to try and escape Anakin’s grasp. And Anakin did not even seem to notice.</p><p>“Rey will be a better Jedi than I ever was, Sheev. And a better person, too.” said Anakin. Not like that was saying something particularly impressive about the girl.</p><p>“I was so pleased to hear that she’s joining the family,” said Anakin, casually.</p><p>“What?” said Sidious, surprised. His granddaughter and the Skywalker boy had only kissed. And one of them was dead now. </p><p>“Rey’s a Skywalker now. My kids—" And there was such <em>affection</em> and <em>pride</em> in his voice when he mentioned his children. Disgusting. "—gave the name to her. I’m glad someone is carrying on my mother’s name.” said Anakin, wistfully.</p><p>Sidious’s impotent rage reached a boiling point. The carefully controlled persona of the benevolent leader was one he had spent decades living in. It was almost comfortable, even now. It was a very rare thing for Sidious to truly lose control. But he had lost it now. It had slipped from his grasp, just like all his Dark power.</p><p>“No, no! No, you will let me go! I have more to do. You are a murderer of children, you are a <em>slave</em>. For more than twenty years, that was all you were!” Sidious hissed. There was no trace of the kindly Chancellor in his voice now.</p><p>“Yes,” said Anakin, voice neutral. Sidious hid his surprise at Anakin’s agreement, desperately grasping onto the sign of weakness.</p><p>“You believe that because the Jedi forgive you, because your son <em>loved</em> you, you can be free of it. One act of heroism, sacrificing your pathetic life to kill me. All for your son. You failed in that, Skywalker. Your children are dead and I still live!” he taunted, though it wasn't strictly true at the moment. Still, he would be alive again soon enough. </p><p>“Once, all that I wished was your command. You cannot be free of it. I am your true Master, Skywalker.” he continued.</p><p>“No,” said Anakin, casually. “No, you’re not. I chose to follow you. You lied to me, you manipulated me, but ultimately it was <em>my choice</em>. Everyday I woke up and <em>chose</em> to commit atrocities, until Luke helped me make a different choice.”</p><p>There was a white light all around them, now. Tatooine was gone. It was just them, as it had been for many years.</p><p>“You ruined my life. You tried to ruin the life of every person I ever loved. But do you know what, Sheev? I’m not doing this because I hate you. Someone of your talents could’ve been a real force for good in the galaxy. Instead, you tried to destroy it. I’m doing this because it needs doing. And <em>I forgive you</em>.” said Anakin. </p><p>Was that a joke? Some kind of trick… no, Force, Sidious was fairly certain Anakin was being sincere. Truly, here was the proof that the Light Side addled the mind. Not that Master Yoda was not already proof enough of that.</p><p>Sidious could not find words for how ridiculous he found Anakin’s statement. Genuine forgiveness—the idea was absurd, barely comprehensible. He was in so much disbelief, the earlier rage at his probable imminent demise at his former apprentice’s hands was almost forgotten. But not entirely so. Sidious struggled to the last, calling up all his strength in the Force, every Dark art that Plagueis had taught him and everything else he had learned himself.</p><p>And Anakin Skywalker did not even flinch. His light shone bright and unrestricted in the Force. It was almost blinding, now.</p><p>“But right now,” he smiled. “I am choosing to finish my damn job and bring balance to the Force. Come with me, Sheev.”</p><p>Anakin held out his hand.</p>
<hr/><p>Anakin was right about at least one thing. What happened to Sidious next was not painful. But it was complete.</p><p>After it was over, Anakin bowed his head for a moment. Then, he went to find his grandson.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So after watching TROS I was wondering what was preventing Palpatine from coming back from death again. And what about Anakin and the prophecy? This was my solution to both of those problems.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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